Fuel receivers for receiving fuel from a fuel source are commonly known in the art. Common applications include refueling large pieces of equipment, such as construction and mining vehicles, on-site using a mobile refueling source, such as a refueling truck. Generally, the fuel receivers are secured to the equipment in fuel providing communication with a fuel tank of the equipment. The fuel source includes a hose and a nozzle attached to an end of the hose. When fueling or refueling of the equipment is desired, the nozzle is placed securely over the receiver, a valve of the receiver is opened, and fuel is pumped from the fuel source, through the hose, nozzle, and receiver, to the fuel tank of the equipment. Such receiver and nozzle refueling systems are designed to facilitate efficient refueling events, that is, attachment of the nozzle, transmission of fuel into the fuel tank, and detachment of the nozzle.
Some equipment may require multiple refueling events in a single day. The continuous attachment and detachment of nozzles tends to wear down the features of the receivers configured to mate with the nozzles. As the nozzle mating features of the receivers wear down, the nozzles may not properly seal against the receivers, and fuel may leak due to the insecure connection between the receiver and nozzles. Therefore, the nozzle mating features of the receivers must be replaced periodically to reestablish a secure connection between the receiver and nozzles and to conserve fuel.
Some conventional fuel receivers require replacement of the entire receiver in order to replace the nozzle mating features. Replacement of the entire receiver generally involves suspending operation of the equipment for a significant amount of time while any fuel remaining in the fuel tank is drained, the receiver is removed from the equipment, and a new receiver is secured to the equipment. In the construction and mining industries, downtime resulting from inoperable equipment corresponds to lost time, profits, and added expense (e.g., $3,000 to $5,000 per hour per vehicle in the mining industry). Therefore, receivers requiring complete replacement to remove worn nozzle mating features have several drawbacks.
Other conventional receivers attempt to eliminate the need to completely remove the receiver for replacing nozzle mating features by removing just a nose portion of the receiver while keeping the base secured to the equipment. The nose portion is designed to have the nozzle mating features formed in an exterior surface of the nose portion. As with most conventional receivers, a valve or poppet is used to plug an inlet of the receiver in a closed position and open the inlet in an open position. Typically, the valve forms a seal with the nose portion of the receiver when in the closed position such that when the nose is removed to replace the nozzle mating features, the seal between the valve and the nose is broken. Therefore, these other conventional receivers included other devices to form a seal with the base, which remained attached to the equipment during removal of the nose. For example, one conventional receiver includes a second poppet that moves to form a seal between the second poppet and base when the nose is removed. In another conventional receiver, a check valve is positioned in the receiver that operates to allow fuel to flow in one direction but not in another.
These other conventional receivers suffer from several drawbacks. First, the second poppet and check valve are positioned at some location away from the main poppet such that an amount of fuel resides within the receiver between the main poppet and second poppet/check valve. When the nose is removed and the seal between the main poppet and nose is broken, the fuel between the main poppet and second poppet/check valve spills out of the receiver and is wasted. Second, the second poppet/check valve creates an obstruction to fuel flow that reduces the flow rate through the receiver. The obstruction causes turbulence in the flow, which creates backpressure. Because of the backpressure, more pumping work is required to move a given amount of fuel through the receiver. Third, the nose is typically a bulky and complex part, which can be expensive to manufacture and replace.